George Unwin

George Cecil Unwin, (18 January 1913 – 28 June 2006) was an officer in the Royal Air Force (RAF) and a flying ace of the Second World War. He is credited with destroying at least 15 German aircraft.

From Yorkshire, Unwin joined the RAF in 1929 as an apprentice and served at Uxbridge as a clerk once he had completed his training. He was accepted for flying training, which commenced in 1935, and was posted to No. 19 Squadron as a sergeant pilot. He conducted extensive testing of the Supermarine Spitfire fighter as it entered service with the RAF. He flew extensively during the Battle of France and the subsequent Battle of Britain, destroying a number of aircraft during this period. Much of the remainder of the war was spent as an instructor, although he did serve operationally with No. 613 Squadron for a time. He remained in the RAF in the postwar period, mainly in staff and administrative roles but also leading No. 84 Squadron during the Malayan Emergency. He retired from the RAF in 1961 and settled in Dorset, where he died in 2006, aged 93.

Early life George Cecil Unwin was born in the town of Bolton upon Dearne, near Barnsley, Yorkshire, on 18 January 1913. From a mining family, he won a scholarship that allowed him to be educated at Wath Grammar School. A lack of funds meant that he could not pursue tertiary studies. He instead enlisted in the Royal Air Force (RAF) in April 1929 as an apprentice clerk at the RAF's records facility at Ruislip. Two years later he was posted as a leading aircraftsman to Uxbridge. In 1935, his application for flight training was accepted and he commencing a flying course at No. 8 Elementary & Reserve Flying Training School at Woodley. He then proceeded to No. 11 Flying Training School at Wittering. Upon completion of his training he was posted to No. 19 Squadron as a sergeant pilot.

On 5 November Unwin destroyed a Bf 109 near Dover. He shared with several other pilots in the destruction of a Bf 110 over the Thames estuary on 15 November but afterwards was attacked by Bf 109s. Despite Unwin successfully evading them, a Luftwaffe pilot, Gerhard Schöpfel, alleged that he had shot him down in the engagement. On 28 November, Unwin shared in the shooting down of a Bf 109 to the southeast of Southend. Unwin, who had been promoted to warrant officer, was duly awarded a Bar to his DFM. This was announced on 6 December, the published citation reading:

Later war service Unwin was rested at the end of the year and sent on an instructing course to No. 2 Central Flying School at Cranwell. In February 1941 he was posted to No. 16 Elementary Flying Training School where he instructed trainee pilots. Later in the year he was commissioned as a pilot officer. In March 1942, by which time he held the rank of flying officer, he was posted to No. 2 Flying Instructors School, where he served until October 1943.

Unwin then undertook a conversion course, training on De Havilland Mosquito fighter-bombers at Grantham with No. 12 Advanced Flying Unit before commencing an assignment as an instructor at No. 60 Operation Training Unit. In April 1944 he was posted to No. 613 Squadron, which was based at Lasham and equipped with Mosquitos as part of No. 2 Group. He made a number of sorties as a night intruder over the next six months, being rested in October. He instructed at Leconfield until June 1946 at which time he was assigned to the Royal Auxiliary Air Force, serving with No. 608 Squadron as an instructor. By this time his substantive rank was made up to squadron leader. For nearly two years, commencing in September 1947, he was a staff officer at various RAF headquarters before being given an operational command, of No. 84 Squadron. His new unit was based in Iraq and operated Bristol Brigand bombers but in April 1950, it was moved to Singapore and became engaged in the Malaya conflict. In August 1951, he broke his leg while playing football and was returned to the United Kingdom. He was subsequently awarded the Distinguished Service Order for his service in Singapore. He returned to Singapore in mid-1955, when he was assigned to Tengah. His final posting in the RAF, back in the United Kingdom, commenced in May 1958; he was the service's Permanent President of Court Martial. He retired in January 1961.

Later life Unwin settled in Dorset and worked for the Spastic Society. He was an ardent golfer, playing several times a week well into his eighties. In late May 2006 he was presented with a scale model of his Spitfire by Corgi Toys. He died at Poole Hospital in Dorset on 28 June 2006 at the age of 93. He had no children and his wife Edna had predeceased him.

Unwin is credited with having shot down 15 German aircraft, two being shared with other pilots, in addition to two unconfirmed destroyed aircraft. He also probably destroyed two aircraft and damaged a third. Unwin was featured in an "exhibition about the men and women who lived, worked and fought for their country at RAF Duxford in Cambridgeshire from 1918 to 1961", which opened at Duxford on 28 March 2013.